Such a rules change wont do them any good in the short term ... but it will do the institution irreparable damage in the long term, McConnell said on the Senate floor. We should work together instead to resolve our differences.

Well, golly gee, Mitch, maybe if you’d stop reading from your one sentence per page speeches in that pansy tone of yours and instead, stand up and shout and fight, maybe you wouldn’t get rolled over so often.

But of course, we all know you like being rolled, because you have a nice cozy position. Why rock the boat.

I have heard that since the Senate is in continuous session because members' terms overlap, that any such rules change would take a 2/3 majority. That would require quite a few RINOs to reach across the aisle to change the filibuster rule. The House does it differently because every member is officially starting a new term at the same time so they set up new rules with a 50% vote at the start of the term.

11
posted on 12/05/2012 11:25:39 AM PST
by KarlInOhio
(Big Bird is a brood parasite: laid in our nest 43 years ago and we are still feeding him.)

Reid either thinks that there will never be a future time when republicans have a majority in the senate,
or he thinks that the MSM will have selective amnesia when they try to change the rules back after a republican majority.

I’m betting on the former. They know that this is it. It’s over, and very soon.

12
posted on 12/05/2012 11:28:33 AM PST
by MrB
(The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter admits whom he's working for)

I would agree. I think a fundamental shift is coming very shortly. It may have to wait on a change within the Supreme Court, but then again that may not be necessary. Everything I see tells me that the Democrats are "all-in" and that this country has been cut loose from its moorings.

Yes. Just as good works cannot “earn” one a spot in heaven, mankind cannot “make the right choices” and create heaven on earth and somehow forestall the End Times. They’re coming. Can’t be stopped. It all has to play out the way we’ve been told. In some ways, I’m not even sorry to see it all unfold. It’s in His hands.

"Sen Sessions (R-AL) has already stated that the GOP could shut down the US Senate and was prepared to do so."

I hope he means it and is not just bluffing (and the rest of the Senate GOP will stand with him). I would like to hear something about methodology, but maybe that would allow Reid to develop counter measures.

I would like to hear something about methodology, but maybe that would allow Reid to develop counter measures.

There is a requirement for a quorum to be present before the Senate can conduct any business. This includes speeches, votes, or any other action by the Senate. This requirement is normally waived by unanimous consent. Any one Senator can object to waiving the quorum requirement and no business can be conducted until a majority of Senators are actually present in the Senate Chamber. If the minority uses this tactic, only one of their members need be in the chamber while the majority would need to keep forty nine members present. This is just one of the obstructive measures available. There are many others and, despite his flaws, Senator McConnell is a master of the Senate rules.

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